Maine State Museum August Roundup

Museum Roundup

News & Updates from the Maine State Museum

August 2022

Collections Reach Beyond Maine's Borders

The 53^rd anniversary of America’s first moon landing is a timely reminder that the Maine State Museum’s collections extend to the moon and back! Read about MSM’s connections to the historic 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing, as well as to remarkable people bringing Maine to present-day space exploration.

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Free Summer Programs Continue!

Group of people standing in a park with the Maine State House in the background

We hope to see you at our summer series of events! Join us in Augusta’s Capitol Park every Wednesday for in-person tours and join us online every Tuesday for live virtual programs.

Visit our website for more information.

Watch the First All-Female Spacewalk

This NASA video shows astronauts Jessica Meir (of Caribou, Maine) and Christina Koch in a historic moment. Action cam footage captures the astronauts in two flights: US EVA-58 (October 2019) and US EVA-63 (January 2020).

Mainers in Space

Dr. Jessica Meir of Caribou, Maine, brought this Maine state flag to the International Space Station (ISS) in September 2019. It belonged to NASA Extravehicular Activity Flight Operations Specialist, Derrick Porter, of Cutler, Maine. He was Dr. Meir's spacewalk instructor.

Dr. Meir's 2019 expedition included a historic first. With astronaut Christina Koch, Dr. Meir took part in the first space walk carried out only by women.

Before Dr. Meir left the ISS, Chris Cassidy of York, Maine joined the crew on the space station, and he brought the flag back to earth in October, 2020.

In May 2022, Derrick Porter and Jessica Meir presented the flag to Governor Mills, and she transferred it to MSM so that it could be preserved for the people of Maine.

Astronauts Jessica Meir (on the left, upside-down) and Chris Cassidy (on the right) aboard the ISS.

Maine's Moon Rocks - One Small Step for Man

The moon rocks are encased in an acrylic globe and mounted on a plaque. Also included was a small Maine State flag that was carried to the moon during the Apollo 11 mission.

MSM 69.200.1

During Apollo 11’s 1969 manned moon landing, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the moon. As part of that remarkable expedition, they gathered moon rocks, which are now a treasured part of the museum’s collection.

The moon rocks are fragments of crystalline rock, breccia, and glass that the astronauts scooped from the dusty lunar surface.

As a goodwill gesture, in 1973 President Richard Nixon presented moon rocks from sample 70017 to 135 different nations and each of the 50 U.S. states. Governor Kenneth Curtis received Maine’s moon rocks, four tiny specks weighing 0.05 grams.

Governor Curtis, in turn, presented the moon rock display to the Maine State Museum.

Hundreds of moon rocks have been lost, stolen, or destroyed over the years. This New York Times article shares NASA’s efforts to track them down.

MAINE STATE MUSEUM www.mainestatemuseum.org